A nuclear weapons free world is within grasp if concerted action is taken at all levels, write Gareth Evans and Yoriko Kawaguchi
The Middle East has long been a testing ground for achieving the ultimate goals of peace. In 1978, Egyptian president Anwar El-Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin sat down with president Jimmy Carter at Camp David and agreed on a historic framework for peace in the Middle East. If nothing else, Camp David is an example of collaboration between former enemies resulting in breakthroughs of the kind needed for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament today.
Since that historic event, Egypt has courageously undertaken further initiatives, most prominently, its decision to embark on the difficult road to nuclear non-proliferation. The Sadat government’s decision to ratify the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1981 was a defining moment for Egypt’s nuclear programme. Soon after, with the 1982 entry into force of its International Atomic Energy Agency Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (INFCIRC 302), Egypt’s facilities were brought into the verification and inspection components of the non- proliferation regime. This reflected a clear commitment by Egypt to non-proliferation with full transparency under the international safeguards system of the IAEA.
Egypt, today, is a member in good standing of the NPT and the leading proponent of establishing a zone free of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the Middle East. While Egypt has consistently led efforts to establish a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons (and since 1990 zone free of WMDs), there have been roadblocks along the way.
It is our strong hope that the Middle East peace process can produce results that will allow the region to address the issues of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation from a new perspective. The prospect of nuclear threats in the Middle East is deeply disturbing for the security of all states, and has the potential to initiate an arms race that will further destabilise the region, and divert resources from social and economic uses.
It is highly encouraging that global momentum is building to ensure that the 2010 NPT review does not succumb to indifference and lost opportunities. There have been a range of appeals from current and former world leaders and nuclear decision-makers urging a renewed effort to move the nuclear disarmament agenda forward: for new cuts to nuclear arsenals, bringing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) into force, and to immediately commence negotiation of a treaty to end the production of fissile material for weapons use. It is highly significant that President Barack Obama has chosen to convene this month a special meeting of the UN Security Council on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.
The International Commission on Nuclear Non- proliferation and Disarmament, which we have the privilege to co-chair, seeks to contribute to this global effort to help build a new momentum towards reconsideration of the role of nuclear weapons in international relations and eventually to eliminate them.